Many businesses would like to communicate with their customers electronically but are unable to do so because they do not have electronic contact information for their customers. For example, a utility company may wish to send bills to its customers via e-mail; however, the utility company is unable to do so because it does not have e-mail addresses for its customers. Because these businesses are unable to communicate with their customers electronically, these businesses are forced to communicate with their customers via more costly and inefficient channels, such as by mail or by telephone.
To address this issue some businesses have attempted to gather electronic contact information for their customers by allowing their customers to create electronic accounts, by contacting their customers to request electronic contact information, or by requiring their customers to provide electronic contact information. Unfortunately, such efforts may require a lot of time and money and may not produce the desired results. Furthermore, such efforts may require active participation of customers who may not have an incentive to provide the requested electronic contact information.